Celtics 115, Suns 110: Avery Bradley had 23 points and a career-high six steals as visiting Boston held off Phoenix.

Isaiah Thomas, in his second game with the Celtics since he was traded by the Suns last week, scored 21 points off the bench and distributed a team-high seven assists. Brandon Bass scored 11 of his 18 points in a 41-point second quarter and Tyler Zeller and Jae Crowder added 12 points apiece for Boston.

Eric Bledsoe had 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds to lead Phoenix, which has lost five straight. Brandon Knight made his first start since he was acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks at last week’s trade deadline and scored 20 and Alex Len contributed 10 points, 12 rebounds and matched his career high with six blocks for the Suns.

The Celtics led by as many as 20 in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Suns pulled within one with 1:47 left in the game after Bledsoe made back-to-back 3-pointers around a missed 3 by Crowder. Thomas came back with a four-point play on the other end and his steal and subsequent layup with 40 seconds left pushed the lead back to 107-100 before the Celtics shot 8-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final 31 seconds to protect the lead.

The Celtics gave themselves some breathing room at the start of the second quarter, when they made 10 of their first 11 shots and all three free throws in the first six minutes to stretch a five-point lead to 55-39. They eventually took a 67-50 lead into the break, matching their highest-scoring first half of the season.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Suns SG Gerald Green, the team’s fourth-leading scorer, did not play as Archie Goodwin and Marcus Thornton, acquired from the Celtics at last week’s trade deadline, were awarded the backup minutes at shooting guard. … Suns F Brandan Wright, who scored 11 points off the bench, became the first player to play for the Celtics and, in the same season, play against them with two different teams. … Bradley has 13 steals in the last three games.